


Wrapper's Delight

by kaige68



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Retail, Community: 1_million_words, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5800360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaige68/pseuds/kaige68
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny Williams is a gift wrapping elf with a secret admirer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wrapper's Delight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [haldoor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/haldoor/gifts).



> Written for the weekend challenge One Hit Wonders - Prompt: Rapper's Delight by the Sugar Hill Gang. Yes, I used a different wrapping. Un-beta'd.

The plus side of his job was that it was only seasonal. The biggest down side that Danny could see was that it was Christmas season. Dressing like an elf was the second biggest down side. But even that had a perk as most of the public didn’t see him except through a window. 

Uncle Dave was some kind of manager at the mall. They weren’t quite sure what his job was, but it let the Williams kids get guaranteed tickets when the mall had an event like a boy band appearance (Danny’s sisters loved Uncle Dave when that happened), but it also cemented seasonal jobs for them. 

His junior year in high school was Danny’s fourth year as an elf. And yeah, being the short kid in class who dressed as an elf got some severe ribbing, but Danny smiled knowing that his family was getting good gifts. It was also possible that he knew how to throw a punch without getting hit in the face in return. Uncle Dave had been specific that black-eyed elves would not be tolerated. 

Halfway through his first season he’d gotten into an argument with Santa who had been griping within earshot of the ‘Meet Santa’ line about poor kids who had no right to be at the expensive mall. Santa didn’t get the job the next year, Danny was transferred from Greeting Elf to Wrapping Elf. He picked fights with Santa on day one since then.

Danny didn’t mind wrapping. He felt he got very good at it, he was quick, thorough, organized, and occasionally got tips. Yes, he shared them with the rest of the elf team, but most of the tips were because of his work. And he told his sisters frequently. Deb stopped telling him when the tips came in and just handed him his share at the end of the night.

The Friday after Thanksgiving Danny was working a double. Open to close. Black Friday. It was going to suck, his hands were going to cramp, and he was going to have to hand wash his elf suit and pray it dried so he could work a double on Saturday too. But the money would be nice.

Santa land had been open about forty-five minutes when Deb handed him a little bag with one item. “He specifically asked for you.”

“You see that?” Danny’s chest puffed out as he lorded over the three other wrappers. “I have fans! I’m a gift wrapping rock star!” 

Deb went back to the counter to take in the next bag. 

About an hour later, she handed him another bag with just one item, saying he’d been requested. And an hour or so later there was another one. It went on all day. Requests for Danny’s mad wrapping skills on small gifts, all one at a time. There’d been lotion, earrings, a votive candle, barrettes, a Barbie outfit, a pair of socks, a tie, a CD, a phone case, a few ornaments, and a skein of yarn. There had been things waiting for him when he got back from both of his half hour breaks. It was bewildering at the very least.

Here’s the deal. The gift wrap hut was at the entrance for the line to see Santa. The faux gingerbread path serpentined around through displays of mall stores’ ideas of Santa’s village, over to the man himself then exited back at the wrapping hut. For a nominal donation to the local children’s hospital, Santa’s elves would wrap your gifts while you were meandering through the line. The Mall paid for the wrapping supplies and the elves minimum wages, and the Williams kids usually left half of their tips for the charity.

So it couldn’t be the same person who was asking for Danny, right? ‘Cause who would be going through Santa’s line that many times. What kind of a brat kid did they have with them who needed to ask Santa for that many gifts, all day long? Honestly, the special requests didn’t let up until after 9. Who the hell stood in Santa line for 12 hours?

“I am telling you.” Matty said in the car on the way home. “This girl went through line at least a dozen times. It was weird. Way weird. And then she said something about her brother liking elves and it got creepy really fast. These elf pants are tight and was some weirdo staring at my butt the whole time?”

“Don’t worry Matty, I doubt it was your butt he was there for.” Deb smirked in the front seat next to Danny.

“Yeah, my butt is much nicer in the elf pants than your’s.” Danny laughed, but clearly, Deb had the eye roll thing down.

Saturday morning the single item stocking stuffer request started up again. Danny kept looking up trying to see who it was that was asking for him. Deb was not handing over any information at all, just smirking. Every time he finished a gift he’d look up. Every fourth fold of paper he’d check out the crowd. Every other piece of tape he’d scan for elf aficionados. Finally Deb smacked him in the head and pointed out how backed up they were getting while he was trying to spot his admirer.

Danny turned bright red and didn’t look up from the table until they were caught up. 

When Danny got back from lunch he covered the counter for his sister’s break. He smiled, made nice, explained to a few put out people that the Elves Union required them each to take a half hour break no matter how much they loved gift wrapping, but that the other elves were doing everything they could to wrap each gift with care as fast as they could.

He moved to the drop off line in time to hear “Mary, please? Just… Please? We’ll stand in the line and then you can go through the parent loop with me, you don’t have to sit on his lap. Please?”

“All set there?” Danny interrupted. 

Without looking at Danny the kid arguing with his little sister handed him a bag and a five. “Would you please have him wrap this-” And then the kid looked Danny in the face. “Um…. Could I… Can I get this wrapped, please?”

“Sure thing.” Danny put the money in the jar, stapled half a ticket to the bag and handed the other half to the older brother. He smiled at the girl. “Have fun with Santa!” He laughed long and hard after that. Could have been the girl flipping him off, or it could have been the kid’s blush.

Deb was back a few minutes later. Danny grilled her before he went back to the table. “You should have told me he was hot.”

“He’s hot? I didn’t notice.” She didn’t bother asking Danny who he was talking about so Danny called that a win.

“With those arms? You noticed. Did he ask you any questions about me? Did you tell him anything?”

“Danny! There are lines of people dropping off and picking up. I don’t have time to tell him that blue is your favorite color, or that yes, you like guys too.” She laughed and pushed him toward the table and took a ticket from a customer at the pick up counter.

Danny kept his eye on the pick up window, watching for the kid. Not caring at all how backed up the wrapping was getting. When the kid finally appeared at the window, Danny got up from the table. Deb rolled her eyes again and went to take the next drop off.

“Listen, there is a post it note in there describing the gift.” Danny explained as he leaned forward.

“Yeah, I got that.” At least the guy wasn’t pretending that he hadn’t been going through the Santa line a little too often.

“And there’s a post it with my phone number on it.” Danny smiled as the guy’s eyes went wide. “There’s a post it in there telling you that you should text me and ask me out after Christmas when we elves aren’t as busy. Then there’s another saying screw it, I’ll find the time somewhere Christmas season or not. There is also one saying that while it is impressive that you are so taken with me you’d force your sister to visit Santa several dozen time and you’d drop a large chunk of cash to a charity just to get a glimpse of me, you should spend your money on your family, and stop dragging Mary to the mall.”

“You fit all that onto a post it?”

“There’s another one asking what your name is.”

The guy smiled, sweet and shy. “Steve.”

“Well, I’ll see you around, Steve.” Danny watched Steve walk away until the crowd swallowed him, then went back to wrapping.

Hours and hours and hours later, or at least it felt that way, the Williams kids were piling into their mother’s minivan, when Deb poked Danny in the shoulder. Across the aisle was Steve leaning against an old Mercury. 

Danny smiled.

Steve smiled back and called out. “There was a post it saying where you were parked and what time you got off work.”

“What? You don’t like my use of the post it system?” Danny hollered back.

Steve started walking toward the minivan. “I thought you might need a ride.”

Danny tossed the keys to Deb, he met Steve halfway.

The Mercury didn’t leave the parking lot until security kicked them out.

Danny's father may have had to flick the porch light a few times.

Steve's aunt might have sent some all caps texts.

And Danny was possibly happy to find someone to cover his Sunday shift.


End file.
